


Pursuit of Happiness

by jaysgatsby



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Gay Middle Aged Men Flirting, Hot Dad Erwin, M/M, Teacher Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Tiny Eren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-07 17:32:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5464988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaysgatsby/pseuds/jaysgatsby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erwin is a single father raising an 8 year old Eren, and despite his demanding job as a high-ranking defense attorney, he always makes enough time for his son. Never one to be superstitious, he'd have never guessed that his son's third grade teacher wouldn't leave his mind since the moment they met at a conference.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Friday

**Author's Note:**

> yes, another eruri. why? i'm wondering just as much as you are.  
> there's going to be some fluffy fluffy cute cute and ofc some angst because what's a good story without heart-wrenching angst? uwu  
> and later on there's probably going to be old man sex, watch out eren.

Pursuit of Happiness  
Chapter 1

 

“Eren.”

A whine is the only given response before the child attempts to turn over, only to be stopped by his father’s hand on his shoulder, firm but gentle, and while the boy is certainly awake now, his father calls him once more.

“Eren,” it’s a tad sterner, but truly as a man of reason, the boy’s father knows that seven-thirty in the morning is not the ideal time for an 8 year old to get out of bed. The thin morning light beams through the opened blinds and spills onto the red comforter, birds chatter just outside of Eren’s window as the September weather hasn’t pushed them further south in search of warmth yet. Warmth, what Eren is focused on under his covers while his father gives his name one more call, smoothing coffee-colored fringe from the child’s forehead.

Finally, sea green eyes are revealed when lids part, though Eren’s lips immediately twist into a pout despite his father’s welcoming smile.

“Rise and shine, babyboy,” coos Erwin, brushing his annoyance, derived from having to try three times to wake this boy up, aside with his typical affection for his little son. Most who would meet Erwin Smith would perhaps take him for a stone-cold man, one who may not actually have the capacity to feel human emotions. They might observe him and say he is too focused on his work, too willing to make sacrifices and not heartfelt enough. Some who have known him for years in the confines of a business environment might still make this claim, but it only held a portion of truth.

Yes, Erwin Smith is a hardworking man who takes his career very seriously, who is not the easiest to crack open or approach. The defense attorney seems to only omit an approachable atmosphere to very few people: his closest friends, his clients, and his son, _Eren_.

Erwin had been married before Eren was born, to a woman he’d been to law school with. They’d met prior to that, but hadn’t formed a more intimate relationship until they’d been assigned to the same project during their second year—and since then hit it off. Once their schooling had completed, they married and went to work at the same firm. Carla was hesitant to start a family right away, afraid that their work lives would interfere with how they raised a child. Erwin agreed, and they waited.

Eventually, Eren was born. But the timing couldn’t have been worse.

Earlier that year, Carla had been warned by her doctor that her chances of getting breast cancer were extremely high. Nervous, Carla had both of her breasts reduced to near nothing by way of prevention. Erwin supported her the entire way, trying his best to help her through a fearful time in her life, especially since both of them lost their mothers to the same disease.

Carla’s doctor informed her that her precautions had things looking good, that it seemed she might be able to avoid the cancer. Relieved, she and Erwin continued with their lives and eventually conceived a child in June. But by early March, Carla fell fatally ill, and the discovery had been that she’d been suffering cancer since December.

After weeks of treatment, no progress had been made and Carla died. The doctors were able to save Eren, but he was in critical condition.

Erwin’s chest compacted with several emotions; anger, confusion, sadness, fear. Seeing his son locked up in the infirmary, his small form connected to a seemingly endless array of wires and machines, it filled him with an even greater remorse than Carla’s death. The fact that his son might not make it either pierced his heart, left him to wonder if he were destined to live in solitude, as both his parents, his wife, and possibly his son would meet an untimely demise.

And one night, before he would force himself to get some sleep, he promised himself that if Eren were able to make it, he would never allow him to feel that alone. He would always be there for him, his greatest friend and supporter.

Eren was born on the second to last day of March, and was released from the hospital in May.

Eight years have gone by, and Eren is the most expressive, intelligent, energetic and _healthy_ little thing he could be. Albeit slightly spoiled, but Erwin disciplines him well, all while teaching the boy the value of self-discipline to the best of his ability (as far as an 8 year old could grasp the concept, anyway).

The attorney leads his child to the bathroom, coaxing him out of bed with the promise of banana pancakes with strawberry syrup. After Eren’s teeth are brushed, as well as his hair (and Erwin takes the time to carefully wipe the crust from his eyes), he is led downstairs and his promise awaits him on the table.

While Eren eats, Erwin makes a few phone calls, mostly with his assistant who reminds him of his schedule. Erwin is pretty good at remembering these things on his own, but there was one small detail he forgot.

_“Don’t forget, Dr. Smith, you’ve got to be at Eren’s parent-teacher conferences tonight at six.”_

“Six?” Erwin’s eyebrows raise and naturally, he glances over at Eren who’s placemat is covered in syrup and orange juice.

_“Yes, six. That’s the time you told me you signed up for.”_

“Eh … right, right. Alright then, I’ll make sure to mark down a reminder for that. Is it the end of the first quarter already?” he checks his watch as though that would help, “It’s only September.”

“To my understanding, they do these in the middle of the quarter. That’s how it works with my daughter, anyway.”

With a sigh, Erwin packs his laptop case and briefcase, and is mindful to leave them on the counter so Eren wouldn’t get anything sticky or citrus-y on them.

“How do you always make such a mess?”

* * *

 

Levi draws in a fresh breath of air, only for it to pass through his nostrils in a tired sigh. Friday was actually his least favourite day of the week, even while it isn’t as treacherous as Monday, the thought of it being the end of the week made the day go by excruciatingly slow.

That isn’t to say he hates his job, because he doesn’t. He loves being a teacher, giving knowledge to children in their early years and making a foundation they would use for the rest of their lives. But, it is simply in his nature to be a strange concoction of pessimistic and optimistic—as he even refers to himself as a ‘short term pessimist’ and a ‘long term optimist’. Meaning, he has great hope and positive feelings about his life as a whole, and about the future, but the little things that happen every day have a tendency to test him. A lot.

Anyone who’s casually familiar with Levi Ackerman knows far too well about his temper and attitude (or _sass_ , as Petra so loved to call it). But he has a strong sense of patience and willpower when it comes to younger children specifically. It’s in fact high school brats he can’t stand.

But small kids, while they might be annoying and whiny, there’s something about them that warms the very center of Levi’s ‘icy heart’ (he doesn’t really have such a thing, but others love to make it seem that way). Perhaps it’s their carefree nature, their small priorities in life or their innocence. Levi actually didn’t care much for kids his age while he was young, but as he grew, he realized that there’s something about one’s more premature years and their most mature that is … pleasant.

So when he enters his classroom early this Friday morning, he removes his jacket and hangs it on the edge of his chair, and begins to search for his lesson plan.

“Levi,” sings a voice from the doorway, and eyes turn to survey Petra’s form with a plastic cup of iced coffee, “ready for those conferences later on?”

“Shit,” curses Levi, “I forgot about those. It’s no big deal, though, I’ve met most of the parents whose children I’m concerned for through phone call. All except …”

“Eren!” the call catches both Levi and Petra’s attention as the older stands up from his chair to see out the window, where the scream had come from. Shooting Petra a glance, he nears the window and opens it, leaning on the pane and looking down to see Eren Jaeger on top of Jean Kirschtein, holding a worm right over the latter child’s face, screaming at him to “Eat it!”

“Oh god,” Levi starts, mumbling under his breath how it’s _too early for this_ before shouting down at them.

“Eren, let Jean go! Both of you go back to beforecare and wait for the bell to ring!” What they were doing outside and how the hell they got there is beyond Levi, but he supposes that the teachers that handle beforecare would see to it that it doesn’t happen again.

Turning back to Petra, he sees her wide blinking eyes and can only sigh. “I’ve never met Jaeger’s parents, but I can’t say I’m very excited to. Unless he’s not so much a handful at home, I don’t think his mom and I are going to get a lot done in that conference.”


	2. Friday, Part II.

Pursuit of Happiness  
Chapter 2

The remainder of Levi’s day hadn’t gone so differently from the incident that occurred in the morning. Though it isn’t bizarre, he knows that Eren and Jean are like oil and water—or more accurately, a match and a lighter. The longest they’ve ever gotten along was perhaps 5 minutes, and while Levi cannot tell exactly why they despise each other so energetically, he knows that the both of them are two decent young boys with a lot of potential. Maybe it’s that they’re both so similar that they can’t get along; both of them are always striving to have the most attention and to be the most recognized, even if for the wrong reasons. And throughout the course of the school day, Levi finds himself even more curious to have a glimpse at Eren’s home life. Maybe he’s deprived of attention, in that he comes from a big family or his parents are the workaholic type.

Levi himself was raised by just his mother, as her only child. He got all the attention he ever desired from her—maybe Eren’s situation differs drastically.

Either way, it’s 2:30pm and the final bell rings at 2:45, so Levi is doing his best to tidy up his monstrosity of a classroom while the children have recreational time to colour and talk amongst themselves. Levi finds himself accidentally eavesdropping on their chatter, hearing the most amusing and outrageous things amongst them. As he goes to place the science kits in their respective area, he sees Eren sitting alone in the corner, knees to chest. He observes him subtly, wondering where his usual friend, Armin, had gone—only to remember that the blonde went home sick.

It’s then Levi notices that Eren is somewhat a loner.

His only friend is Armin, and aside from disputes with Jean and small talk with classmates, Eren doesn’t interact very much with other students. It’s surprising, considering how bright and outgoing he is. Levi closes and locks the cabinet before making his way over toward where the boy sat miserably, playing with a lego set.

“If you place the bigger blocks on the bottom, you’ll be able to build it taller,” the teacher mumbles, eyeing his students work.

Eren jumps at the sudden voice, almost knocking over his entire tower in the process. He manages to catch it before it falls completely apart, and shyly looking his teacher up and down, he nods. “I … I know. I was trying to do it a different way to see if it’d work …”

“I see.” Levi comments, before cutting to the chase. “Why are you sitting here alone, hm?” It could be that Eren is simply an introvert, much like Levi himself. He could draw energy from being alone, he doesn’t require the company of others very often. But Levi doesn’t peg Eren as that type, seeing the way he lights up when talking with Armin.

Eren shrugs his little shoulders, screwing the head off one of the premade lego men nervously. “I … I dunno. No one else wanted to come play, so I’m just doing it by myself.”

Levi notices that Eren isn’t looking at him, and hums. “Did you ask them?”

Silence. Eren stares down at the blocks in his hand and opens his mouth to speak, but the bell rings and the children literally explode with energy. Levi stands up to yell for them to be careful, and to remember to do their homework (specifically since he watched Sasha leave her reading book behind), and by the time he turns back to where Eren had been, the boy had slipped away.

Levi groans at the mess of legos he left behind, and drags the bin over to throw them inside.

* * *

Despite working so many hours a week, Erwin is able to squeeze in enough time to pick Eren up most days. He watches his son climb into the back seat and throw his bookbag down beside him, fumbling with his seatbelt. All this he does in silence.

Erwin raises a brow and decides to speak. “Eren, you’re awfully quiet today.”

Eren sighs and looks out the window, rubbing a bruise on his knee. “Dad … can you skip conferences today?”

The boy’s father looks surprised, testified to by his answer. “Hm? Why?”

“I think … I think Mr. Ackerman thinks I’m … I dunno … today he asked me why I wasn’t playing with anyone else. Armin wasn’t there and …” Erwin watches as his son struggles to express his thoughts, though the blonde gets the gist of what’s being communicated.

“Well, Eren, why weren’t you playing with anyone else?”

The boy hesitates, eyes still focused on the scenery out the window that had yet to change, “I just didn’t want to.”

“Well, what’s this got to do with conferences? I can’t skip them, you know. That would be rude to waste your teacher’s time that way.”

“… Okay.” Eren expertly avoids the question, though it doesn’t get past Erwin. He decides to let it go for now, and ignites the car’s engine to take them home.

Since Erwin usually works until 7 and Eren is home by 3:30, there is a nanny who looks after him most days. Nanaba is already there when Erwin lets Eren in, and while the two adults briefly converse, Eren sneaks up to his bedroom.

The boy tosses his bookbag onto his bed and tears open the zipped compartment, pulling out a red notebook that he keeps from most everyone, including his father. The only other person who’d ever seen its contents is Armin.

Flipping it open, he turns to a new page and squeaks with annoyance when the contents fall out in result of his carelessness. He scurries to pick up the few sheets of paper, and the picture of Jean.

* * *

6pm comes along faster than Eren would have liked, but the bright side of it would be that he gets to see his dad earlier than usual. He latches onto his father before the man is halfway into the door, and Erwin laughs as he scoops the child up with one arm.

“What’s this about? You just saw me not 3 hours ago,” a laughing Erwin teases, as his son laughs along.

“I missed you!”

“Have you changed your mind about wanting to skip conferences, then?”

Eren pouts. “Not really, but I guess I’m more okay with it now. The sooner we go the sooner we can leave.”

Erwin snickers and heads for the car.

When they arrive, the school is decorated casually, but nicely, and several of the higher grade teachers are conversing in the hall with coffee. Erwin nods bluntly in greeting toward them, and Eren finds himself lazily studying the halls he knows well by now.

“Hey,” beginds Erwin, snapping the brunette out of his trance, “you’ll have to show me where your classroom is.”

“It’s just down this hall, Dad,” Eren says, thrusting a pointed finger into the direction of the third grade classroom. With the childish direction given by his 8 year old, he finds the classroom and, more importantly, the signup sheet.

“Dad, I gotta go.”

“Go? Go where?”

“Potty.”

Erwin sighs and lets his son down, watching him run down the hall toward where he assumes the restrooms are. He turns back to the printed sheet of paper, distantly hearing a teaching scold “No running!”, which causes him to smile.

In the process of scripting his name on the paper, Levi emerges from the classroom to greet him.

“Ah, he—” the teacher is cut off when Erwin straightens his back, standing at his full height. Erwin raises a brow at him and Levi clears his throat, trying a second time. “Hello. Sorry, my throat’s dry. I haven’t had my afternoon tea.”

Erwin lets his brow lower and nods his head, his unfamiliar behaviour starting to show, as it does whenever he encounters a new person. “Understandable.”

Levi finds his eyes tracing the slope of strong shoulders under the midnight-coloured blazer, and notices that there’s almost an entire foot of height difference between them. Not letting his bewilderment at this show, he carries on the small talk. “So, whose parent are you? I don’t believe we’ve met before.”

Whoever’s dad this is, their mom is one lucky woman.

Erwin is about to answer when “Dad!” is shouted from down the hall and bounding his way onto the scene is Eren.

Levi’s eyes widen as the brunette skids unceremoniously and Erwin’s demeanour changes entirely, his eyes light and he smiles.

“Sorry I took a long time, Ms. Ral started yelling at me,” Eren explains, noticing Levi there and inching behind his father’s leg. “H-Hello, Mr. Ackerman …”

“You’re … Eren’s father.” Levi notes aloud, seeing Erwin nod, much looser with the appearance of his son, it seems.

Eren is the last child Levi would have guessed, not only because he looks absolutely nothing like his father, but because this man seems so … stern, so well-disciplined. He would have been expecting a more tired-looking man, more worn down and less … _hot_.

It isn’t like Levi to label someone with such a term but no other word besides _handsome_ and other less professional synonyms come to mind when those gorgeous blue eyes and neat blonde hair catch the light so perfectly. The shorter man clears his throat once more, glad he made that tea excuse before opting to introduce himself formally.

“Well, I’m Levi Ackerman, his teacher. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr.—”

“Smith, Erwin Smith.” Erwin is quick to annex his surname before Mr. Ackerman calls him ‘Jaeger’. It would have been an honest mistake, but his son took his mother’s surname because Erwin felt it would be a better way to keep the woman alive and in the boy’s life, despite the fact he resembles her near uncannily.

“Mr. Smith.” Levi nods, thinking to ask why he doesn’t share a surname with his son, but figuring it might be divorce and that was always awkward.

_Divorce. So he might be single._

That’s a thought Levi stores in the back of his mind before Eren takes over.

“Dad is a doctor. _Dr_. Smith.”

“Eren, I’m not a doctor.” Erwin turns to Levi, smiling apologetically. “I have a doctorate in law, but Mr. Smith is fine. Preferred, almost.”

Levi takes in this new piece of information with a nod as he guides them both into the classroom, noting that Eren seems to be much more sociable with the presence of his father. And, vice versa, considering how Erwin had been before Eren reappeared. He wonders why that is, briefly, before pulling a chair for Eren to sit in beside the one assumed for his father.

The teacher takes his own seat behind his desk and watches as nearly simultaneously with Erwin’s rear meeting his chair, Eren is climbing into his lap. Tonight is just full of surprises, Levi notes.

“So,” the teacher starts, glad for the cup of tea right beside him at his desk, “let’s begin, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter!   
> sorry if it seems to be moving along a bit slowly, or the chapters seem a little short, but the way i have this story designed, things won't pick up until later on.   
> if you read carefully, you might have noticed a few things that could foreshadow something to happen in the future? ^^


	3. Friday, Part III.

Pursuit of Happiness  
Chapter 3

Eren squirms restlessly upon his father’s lap as the two men go over papers: progress reports, homework and classwork, tests and quizzes, basically every assignment since the morning bell rang on the very first day. Adjusting from second to third grade has been a rocky road for Eren, the work load had increased significantly, and Mr. Ackerman is far stricter than any of his other teachers had been. He isn’t mean, but he is the near definition of _no-nonsense_ and Eren felt the worst of it, especially when he fought with Jean in class.

Ironically, when the teal-eyed boy tunes in again, Levi is discussing his in-class behaviour. Eren hides his face.

“He’s a good student, he learns fairly quickly and he applies himself to the best of his ability … however, he’s got an explosive temper when another student is involved. I’m not sure if you know him, but Jean Kirschtein is his name, he’s another student in my class.”

Erwin’s eyes enlarge and he glances down at his hiding son, before meeting the mature gray eyes before him. “No, this is the first I’ve heard the name. Or of Eren being difficult in school …” explains a pensive Erwin, “How often are they fighting?”

“Everyday,” Levi murmurs, though audibly, “I’ve got my own theories on why they’re doing this, but every time I ask either of them about it, they somehow manage to dodge the question. I haven’t _caught_ them fighting physically … but I have noticed mysterious bruises here and there.”

“Eren,” Erwin begins, and the boy clutches harder onto his father’s blazer, not wanting to meet eyes, “Eren, look at me.”

“I … I don’t wanna.”

“I know you don’t wanna, but I asked you to.”

Levi watches the exchange, a slight pang of guilt rings in his ears, but he knows it had to happen, someone had to say something or it would only worsen. And it isn’t entirely about having order in the classroom, but stems from a genuine concern for either student.

So, slowly, Eren withdraws his face from his father’s chest and meets the man’s stern blue eyes, his own of a jade hue watery with guilty tears.

“Have you ever hit Jean?”

Eren is silent for a long time, and Erwin doesn’t push him to answer, for the way the boy’s lips part and his eyes shift, he is making to answer, he is trying to find the right way to word his response. Even if it is a simplistic ‘ _yes or no_ ’ question, Erwin can tell something deeper is between these two boys. Or at least, there’s something deep inside Eren.

“I … I’ve pushed him down … I’ve tackled him and … sat on him and he’s done the same to me, but I never hit him.”

Erwin studies the watery eyes of his son and clears his throat. “You promise?”

Eren slowly nods. “I promise.”

Levi sighs, “So long as you two aren’t horseplaying in the building … and so long as you don’t really plan on hurting him, I can let it go unpunished. But Eren, you have to stop being so hostile toward Jean. I’m not saying you have to like him … though I’d encourage you to like all of your classmates, I can’t say that’s a concrete expectation. But be respectful, at the very least. I’ll have a talk with Jean, too, we’ll get this sorted out. But I have to ask … and your father is here, so I hope you’re comfortable explaining … why do you fight with Jean so much? What’s going on between you two that I can’t see?”

“Jean …” Eren starts, sniffling like he meant to clear his sinuses but Erwin can tell that he’s on the verge of tears. “Everyone likes Jean. He’s smart and … popular, I guess. And … and even though I don’t care about being popular … I don’t get why everyone in the class is so nice with Jean and no one so much as even looks at me.”

Erwin’s lips fall open and his eyes fall with sadness at those words. Why had Eren kept this from him?

“I dunno if everyone thinks I’m mean or … or weird or anything else, but the only person that even talks to me is Armin.”

“Eren, have you tried talking with anyone?” Erwin asks, rubbing gentle circles in his son’s back, “I’m sure no one would reject you …”

“It’s not that simple … I mean …” Small fists come up to rub vigorously at his eyes and Erwin pulls his son against him for a hug, whispering that _it’s alright_.

Levi leans on his intertwined fingers and breathes out another small sigh, packing Eren’s papers into a manila folder with his name printed neatly on the tab. “So, you fight with Jean because you’re upset he’s got a lot of friends? Is that why?”

Eren’s cheeks are burning scarlet as he nods his head. “Don’t tell him that … please don’t tell him that …”

“I won’t.” Levi says softly.

“You promise?” Eren asks, looking with hopeful, wide eyes; the green hues sparkling with the remnants of tears.

Levi purses his lips, and nods. “I promise.”

Erwin watches the interaction and his own lips purse, as he lets Eren down from his lap. “Eren, go wash your face, okay? By the time you come back, we should be done here. Take your time, alright?”

Eren gives a nod of accordance and pulls the classroom door open, disappearing behind it.

Erwin sighs and turns to Levi. “I’m sorry it became more like an intervention than a conference.”

Levi gives a small, quick smile, shaking his head. “It’s fine … I’d been meaning to get to the bottom of what was going on with him and Jean … though … Mr. Smith, I hope you won’t take it the wrong way, but I think there’s more to it than that …”

The attorney nods along, “I was thinking the same. I just didn’t want to push him. Eren can get pretty worked up.”

“Oh, I know. I see enough of it here, I can only imagine what you see at home, as his father.”

Erwin smiles softly. “He’s a sensitive boy.”

Levi notices then that, even though Eren’s away, Erwin seems much more open with him than he’d been upon arrival. Even Levi himself seems looser—maybe it’s all the emotion Eren had diffused into the room. “Like his father, maybe?”

The blonde laughs softly, shrugging. “Maybe.” He takes a moment to look at his son’s teacher, the contrasting softness and sharpness of his face, the dark hair that frames the gentle slope of his forehead so perfectly. He’s not sure why he hadn’t noticed, but Mr. Ackerman is quite … beautiful.

It’s a distant thought, however. He notices the stone-gray eyes looking at him, too, and for a moment they meet in awkward eye contact before Levi looks down toward his papers and Erwin at the clock.

“Eren’s a good kid,” Levi says quietly, “I can tell. He’s got an earnest heart, and he’s intelligent. You must be very proud of him.”

“… I am.” Erwin verifies, standing from his seat, “I’ve done my best with him, and he’s really blossoming into a fine young boy on his own. It’s been hard … raising him alone, but I can look at him and feel that it was all worth it.”

“Alone …” Levi echoes and Erwin nods.

“His mother … passed, a while ago. Right after he was born.”

“I’m sorry … I can only imagine the pain.”

Despite nodding, Erwin’s lips give a mellow curve. “It’s okay … we’ve gotten used to it just being us.”

Something about that makes Levi feel even sadder, though he can’t quite decipher it. But when he catches glimpse of that smile, he can’t help but feel his cheeks retaining a small amount of heat, hopefully not enough to show in colour. “I see …”

“It seems it’s become an intervention again,” laughs Erwin, all while shaking his head, “You don’t have any kids, do you?”

“Me?” Levi asks, as though there’s someone else the inquiry could have been directed to. “No, I’m not even married.” He finds himself skillfully sliding in that last bit of information, with a subtle hope that Mr. Smith would notice it. “Besides, I’ve got enough kids. I deal with 20 of them every day.”

“You don’t want any of your own?”

“I’m not sure … I’m only 34, I think I’ve got a little while longer to think about it.” _And, I’m not entirely interested in women._

“You’re 34?” Erwin scrunches his nose just slightly, “I thought you were ten years younger than that, at least.”

“Oh, no,” Levi feels more heat build in his face, “I’m certainly 34, I just don’t look like it because of my height. If I were a giant like you, my age would be plastered across my forehead,” he teases.

“Giant?” Erwin blinks, “Well, I’m only two years your senior, so maybe there’s some validity to that, hm?”

“Mm …” Levi leans on his hand as he hears Eren’s paced footsteps nearing the classroom, “Well, that sounds like your son. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Smith. And, do remember to work with him at home with multiplication; we're starting with division soon and he seems to be struggling just a little.”

“I will. Say … Mr. Ackerman,” Erwin begins, and Levi looks up immediately, “… it was nice meeting you too.”

Something in Levi deflates, but he doesn’t let it show. He only gives a subtle smile.

“I hope we can meet some other time, just to talk.”

That’s when something bursts in his chest and Levi’s eyes widen, immediately starting to write something down on a new sheet on his notepad.

“Maybe we can meet to have coffee, or tea,” says Levi, tearing the sheet from the pad and placing it in Erwin’s hand. “I know a few places around here.”

Erwin studies the paper and feels himself smiling, tilting his head. “Until then, Levi.”

“Right, Erwin.”

Eren bursts in, his face free of tearstains, though a bit of wet paper towel is stuck to his cheek. Erwin laughs and plucks it off, throwing it in the wastebin as he guides his son out.

“Say goodbye to Mr. Ackerman, Eren.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally, some old man action.  
> also some insight toward what's going on between eren and jean!  
> ... or is it? apparently, all that's clear is that eren's good at dodging questions. 
> 
> again, i apologize that it's kind of brief. the next chapter will definitely be longer!


	4. Saturday

Pursuit of Happiness  
Chapter 4

“Dad,” Eren starts, trudging along in his descension of the stairs to their household. The addressed has his weight pressed against the kitchen counter, the partially folded newspaper grasped in his hand and a steaming ceramic mug in the clutches of the other. Erwin usually doesn’t work on Saturday, the main reason behind the day being Eren’s favourite among the seven; as it allows him to spend the most time with his father.

The man’s attention diverts from the printed words when his son comes teetering into the room, his usual energy about him. “Well, good,” eyes drift toward the clock and half a laugh flies past Erwin’s parted lips, “afternoon. It’s half past noon, Eren, it’s not like you to wake up so late. You went to sleep when I tucked you in, didn’t you?”

Eren’s cheeks tint with pink, as do the tips of his ears, which gives Erwin all the answer he needs. The father isn’t peeved, for it’s a weekend and he knows Eren likes to sneak in an extra hour or two to be awake, usually writing in that notebook he must assume Erwin doesn’t know about or playing video games with the volume all the way down.

Indeed, Erwin leads his son on to think he doesn’t have knowledge of all of his little habits, but needless to say, the man has observed quite a considerable amount of things from the shadows.

“I … meant to,” Eren begins, “but I guess a few things kept me up.”

“Mm,” Erwin raises a brow, “and what kind of things would those be?”

“Nothing!” Eren is quick to shout, but cowers when his father’s brow furrows just slightly. Despite being a rather laid back parent, Erwin does not like for Eren to raise his voice at him at all. But since the situation about them is not one which requires anything other than a stern reminder of an expression, Erwin lets it go.

“Clearly it’s something if it’s keeping you up past midnight. Eren, you’re 8. I’m more than four times your age and I don’t even stay up that late. How often do I need to remind you that while you’re growing you need to take your sleeping habits seriously? It’s alright for now, since today is Saturday, but if I catch you during a school night doing this you’ll be in _big_ trouble.”

Flustered, Eren turns his eyes toward the floor and starts pulling at his little fingers with a nerve about him. He nods his head to show he understands, and Erwin sighs, placing the mug onto the counter. He tucks his hands under Eren’s arms and hoists him high, placing him on the counter where he could sit and resuming his previous position.

“Now, weren’t you going to ask me something?”

“Yeah!” Eren suddenly remembers, clearing his throat, in doing so most likely copying his father’s habit, “Dad, Mr. Ackerman gave you a little piece of paper from his notepad yesterday—right?”

Eyebrows raise inquisitively before a nod follows suit, “Yes, he did. What of it?”

“Well—what’d it say?”

“Hm?”

“What was uh—what was on the paper?”

In a period of a few seconds, Erwin’s mind floods with a sea of wonders—mostly consisting of why Eren is concerned about this, and every possible lie he _could_ tell, even though he often refuses to lie to Eren, no matter the awkwardness or uncomfortableness about the subject.

Eren seems to pick up on this hesitation, for his large eyes are staring at Erwin like he’d grown another head. It isn’t like his father to wait so long to answer a question, unless he were taking time to think—Erwin always knows what he is talking about, as far as Eren’s observations go. What makes him freeze so suddenly?

“Dad, it’s okay. I already know.”

Erwin’s eyes narrow slightly, “Do you?”

“Yep.” Eren affirms, crossing his arms over his little chest, “I just wanted to see if you’d admit it. I understand why you’d feel embarrassed about it.”

“Embarrassed?”

“Uh huh,” suddenly the green eyes are alight with some form of mischief, “Mr. Ackerman gave you a sheet from his notepad. That’s the same notepad he uses to give kids notes home, or even worse, _detentions_.”

Erwin is learning so much in this moment, not only that his son seems to think he’s been disciplined by Levi, but that third graders can receive detentions.

“I was just wondering which you got, but since I don’t know who he’d write the note to, you probably got a detention. Jean got one of those once, and he cried like a baby,” Eren’s eyes widen and he goes on, “ _unless_ he wrote the note to grandpa! Dad, what’d you _do_?”

“Eren,” Erwin is laughing, shaking his head, “I didn’t get a detention, or a note to my father. I’m too old to get those.”

“But Mr. Ackerman said you’re never too old to be taught a lesson.”

“And he’s right, but I’m old enough to deal with my own problems.”

“Then—then if it wasn’t a detention, _or_ a note home, what was it?”

Erwin smiles, sighing as he figures he might as well be honest, “His phone number.”

Eren makes several faces over a short period of time, the most prominent of them a look of pure bafflement and bemusement. “Wh—What do you need that for?”

“To contact him,” Erwin answers, “What else?”

Something about his father having his teacher’s phone number makes a shudder creep up the length of Eren’s spine. Erwin is able to spot it immediately, and has to work to stop himself from laughing again.

“Are you … are you all gonna talk about me?”

“Maybe sometimes. But it’s mostly because we want to … be friends.” That isn’t a _lie_ , is it? Surely Mr. Ackerman isn’t interested in him in any way other than getting to know him more—though Erwin had never been too proficient in reading emotional cues (other than during a court case or when he looks at Eren, his own son), and while he thought Levi to be very attractive in several ways, despite having just met him, he’s sure it’s just a friendly meeting the teacher is looking for.

But what is he himself looking for? He hasn’t thought about dating anyone in a long time, he’d been with Carla since college and was always too preoccupied with Eren to think about initiating romance into his life again. He wants to, he has a slight interest in trying again, in meeting someone while Eren is still young and possibly open to accepting someone as a parental figure in his life. It may seem rather wistful of him, but he still has the image of a perfect family in mind, wishes to remarry and have someone in his life as his eternal friend and partner. Carla would want it, he thinks. She was that kind of woman.

But perhaps he is getting too carried away—while all these things hold true, he isn’t sure if Levi is even thinking along the same lines he is, if the younger man is even interested in a romantic relationship. He seemed rather aloof when the topic of children and marriage surfaced, though that could be due to the tragic nature of Erwin’s own experiences casting a dark cloud over the mood. He figures only time will tell what will become of he and Levi, and it does him no good to ponder so deeply about it right now, especially while Eren is staring at him so intently, perhaps wondering himself what his father and teacher will become.

“Eren, let’s go for a walk, hm? It’s a nice day, not too chilly outside. Plus, the leaves are changing colour.”

Eren perks up and nods, flinging himself off the counter to change from his pajamas.

* * *

“This is the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

The auburn haired woman blinks at her friend, swirling her spoon around in the cream of her coffee to draw lazy patterns into it. Popping the small spoon into her mouth, she rolls her eyes. “Levi, it’s been a day and you’re still talking about this guy. I’m almost sad I missed out on it, he must have been pretty attractive if he’s got _you_ bent out of shape.”

Levi clicks his tongue at her, eyes narrowed with mild offense, “I’m not _bent out of shape_. But he was pretty damn hot.”

“ _Hot?_ I have never heard you use that word, not even in reference to the weather.”

“It’s the only somewhat intelligent word I can think of to describe him. It’s like in an hour he met all my standards.” Clearly not _all_ of them, but Levi is slightly concerned that upon their next few meetings, the checklist may keep filling itself in.

“If you’d have told me last year that _Levi Ackerman_ would be so much as remotely interested in another human being, I’d have laughed in your face. But look where we are,” she smirks, “just tell him the truth.”

“What truth? That I’m attracted to my student’s single father?”

“Yes. But don’t think of him as Eren’s dad, think of him as just a really ‘ _hot_ ’ guy.”

“… Who is Eren’s father.”

“Levi, it’s like you weren’t even listening.”

“God, why does this have to happen to me? Out of all the teachers this could happen to, it’s me.”

“Levi, come on now. Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic? Even for you?”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Petra laughs, shaking her head. “Nothing. If you won’t have my advice, then I’m not sure I can offer much else. If you don’t want to tell him straight up, then wait it out. See if there are any hints about him feeling the same way, then once you’ve collected your data, prepare to be Eren’s stepmom.”

Levi nearly growls at the laughing woman, choosing to ignore her and focus on his tea as he takes a sip.

“Why won’t you listen to me? I’m engaged, you know.”

“To Auruo,” starts Levi, “who’s hopelessly in love with you.”

“He wasn’t always hopelessly in love with me. We had to get there. I’m sure with some time, you can get Erwin to be hopelessly in love with you, too.”

“Fuck,” Levi says, staring at the window before a confused Petra cuts in.

“Yes, you’ll get to do that too—”

“No, Petra, it’s him.” Levi says, pointing as subtly as he can out the window where indeed, Eren and Erwin are approaching the quaint little café. “What is he doing?”

“Well, Levi, he lives in the city too. He has just a much a right to enter a public place as you do.”

“I know that, I mean … whatever, it’s no use explaining it.”

“Oh, is that him? Wow—I see what you were talking about. He is really good looking—”

“Shut up, he’s coming in here.”

Petra huffs her dissatisfaction and turns back to her coffee, watching from the corner of her eye as Levi observes the man and his son approaching the counter.

Erwin gets coffee and Eren gets the cookies he’d been begging for since the establishment had come into view, but to Levi’s surprise, it isn’t Erwin who spots him; it’s Eren. But with the boy’s sudden expression, Levi would judge the child doesn’t _want_ Erwin to notice him. For as soon as his father starts to turn around, Eren is groping for his attention, doing so much as standing in the way in attempt to block the direction where Levi and Petra are sitting.

Levi isn’t sure how he feels about this, for part of him hadn’t wanted Erwin to notice him while another part had, but the fact that Eren is being somewhat a cockblock starts to irritate him as well. He wonders _why_ , for Eren shouldn’t know about Levi’s developing crush on his father, not even Erwin himself is aware of it—truly, not even Levi will actually admit to it. While it isn’t necessarily unlike Eren to act out, Levi is surprised by his behaviour.

“Is it just me, or does it seem like Eren is trying to distract Erwin from turning around?”

Levi looks toward Petra, and nods his head, “You noticed, too.”

“It’s kind of hard not to … here,” and before Levi can order her to sit down, Petra stands and waves toward Eren, purposely drawing his father’s attention as well.

“Hey, Eren!”

The brunette flushes, his father turning to see a familiar looking woman sitting across from—Levi. Levi, who is covering his face abashedly.

Erwin looks down at his son and gently nudges him, whispering for him _not to be rude_ and to go properly say hello.

Eren huffs as silently as possible as he navigates toward their booth, and Petra starts to chat the boy up, giving Levi the perfect window to speak to Erwin.

Erwin smiles softly at him, the difference between settings from now and where they’d first met seeming to be noticed by them both. While the attorney is still dressed very crisply, with a blazer over a buttondown and sharply styled slacks, Levi takes the day off to be far more casual, evident by his donning of jeans and a sweater.

But Erwin still thinks he looks just as beautiful as he had the previous day. It might have been odd of him to think of another man as _beautiful_ and not _handsome_ , but truly it was the first word that came to mind, and it held the truest. He’d never believed in the feminization of that word, anyway, and figured it is just as much a compliment to a man as it is to any woman. Smile still apparent, he decides to break the thin layer of ice he could feel between them.

“Levi, it’s nice to see you again.”

“You, too.” Levi says, legs crossed one over the other as he leans back in the booth, “If I’d have known I’d run into you here, I’d have ditched Petra.”

The warm-eyed woman frowns in Levi’s direction, unamused with his attempt to poke at her for jest, but she lets it go when she sees Erwin smile at the remark, almost—shyly? Such an expression almost doesn’t look right on a man of his stature, but if Petra finds it somewhat cute, she can only imagine what Levi is thinking.

Levi notices, and a warm blush colours his cheeks just _slightly_ , even so, Petra almost has a heart attack at the sight.

“Well, that isn’t necessary now. Eren and I were just in the area and he wanted something sweet, I’d hate to take up too much of your free ti—”

“It’s no problem,” Levi says sooner than he’d meant to, but goes with it, “it would actually be nice if we could … meet up here again, sometime. As just us two.”

“Just us two,” Erwin echoes him, his smile opening slightly to show the teeth that Levi had known would be perfect, “I’d like that.”

“When are you available, then? If no time during the week is convenient, we could always just meet next Saturday.”

“Mm, I have a tight schedule in the upcoming week. Next Saturday would probably be best. Even now, I’ve got to run, Eren probably wants to go home.” Taking a glance at the boy, Erwin can see the discontentment in his face, the typical antsy nature of the 8 year old showing through as he stands beside Petra, who could entertain him no longer.

“Alright, then. I’ll be here.”

“Until then, we’ll keep in touch.” Erwin waves and beckons Eren toward the door, establishing eye contact with a staring Levi once more before exiting.

“Did you hear that?” Petra starts, almost knocking over her mug in excitement, “’Cause I did. ‘ _We’ll keep in touch_ ’, meaning he’s gonna call you. Maybe even text you. Which means he’s gonna be thinking about you.”

“You’re reading too much into it.” Levi responds, taking a long sip from his now lukewarm tea. But he doesn’t mind the change in temperature, for it’s worth it in comparison to what he got for it. While he brushes Petra’s words aside, he certainly hopes they hold at least some validity. Sadly, it’s a fact only time will tell.

Erwin is still smiling while he holds Eren’s hand on the way home, and while Eren loves the sight of his father’s smile, he’s still unsure of how he feels about whatever is going on between his father and his teacher. It almost mirrors how …

Eren looks up toward his blue-eyed father, requesting his attention once more, “Dad.”

“Yes, Eren?”

The child plays with the string sealing the bag of cookies in his free hand, shyly making his inquiry, “Do you … do you _like_ Mr. Ackerman?”

“Like him?” Erwin feigns ignorance to buy him time to think about the response he will eventually have to make, “Well, of course I like him. He’s a very nice and pleasant company.”

“No … I meant … _like_ him, like him.”

“Do I like him twice as much?” he teases.

Eren picks up on it and has to bite his lips to keep from smiling. “Dad!”

“Alright, alright. I know what you mean. And … well, I don’t know. It’s been a long time since I’ve _like_ liked someone.”

“Oh,” Eren says with a serious nod, “I was just wondering.”

“How would you feel if I did like him that way?”

“Kind of weird. I mean, he is my teacher, and stuff … I noticed because you smile a lot when you’re around him, and you never really smile like that with strangers, or even some people you’ve known for a real long time.”

“Yeah …” Erwin admits, a slight sigh about him, “Eren, if there’s one thing you’ll need to know about people, it’s that sometimes they can surprise you. Sometimes, one person can change your life in a matter of moments, or open your eyes to something you haven’t seen before. Even if you just met them, sometimes it feels as though you’ve known the person forever. But even then, you’ve always got to be careful, okay?”

“Okay, Dad.” Eren scrunches his nose, “That sorta sounds like a Disney movie.”

Erwin laughs, “It does, doesn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year!  
> sorry for the bit of lacking of activity, i've been busy elsewhere but i've been trying to get my fics updated at least once a week. my break time from school is coming to an end as much as i hate to admit that to myself and my free time is being sucked up with it ;;  
> but i'll do my best to keep things updated. this chapter got a teeny bit long, but you can probably tell the mess of conflicted feelings going around from erwin to levi to even eren. hope you'll stick around to see how it all plays out ^^


	5. Saturday Night

Pursuit of Happiness   
Chapter 5

As a top-ranking defense attorney, Erwin encounters many unnerving situations on a somewhat daily basis, where he may be considerably nervous deep within but must always manage to keep a cool, logical, and level head. Nerves are easy to rack in nearly any person, but even prior to his training in law school, Erwin had always been a difficult person to get a reaction from—he'd always appeared somewhat distant and detached from any situation he had not consciously and willingly thrown himself into.

 

Yet the gallant lawyer sits cross legged on his bed, staring at the screen of his phone, as he has been for the past ten minutes now. He could probably draw his home screen photo of he and Eren by memory at this point, having traced the curves and lines of both their faces with his eyes several times over. But the photo is not the epicenter of his attention—that entitlement is due to his messaging app, which at the corner of it, there is a red circle that reads 35, and most likely they are texts from coworkers, secretaries, friends and family or some fourth party that escapes his mind at the very moment he considers it. But it isn't the hoard of unread messages that causes him to stare so blankly at this application; it is the fact that he should, at some point, click it and contact Levi.

 

He wants to, he isn't dreading this. Nowhere near it; he is excited to talk to the teacher again, but he is _nervous_. When he asks himself what it is _about_ Levi that makes him so nervous, he almost immediately figures it may concern the fact that he’s genuinely attracted to another person for the first time in almost a decade. He was hardly ever worried about making good impressions in the past, but he knows that he wants Levi to _like_ him, to want to keep talking with him and to start some kind of relationship. Preferably as friends, or so he would like to think, though he can't deny the fact that he's definitely entertained the distant fantasy of being something more than just that. which, the slightly younger man seems to already take some interest in Erwin, given the evidence presented at both their conference and accidental meeting at the coffee shop earlier today.

 

It's been hours since then, as it's nearing 9 in the evening and he knows he shouldn't wait too long, though if he were honest with himself, despite Levi’s demanding job, he appears as the type of man to stay up fairly late. It could be the darkened circles under his eyes that Erwin has noticed, but they weren't anything less than _charming_ , truthfully. Erwin had never thought dark circles could be cute, but on Levi they looked almost like they belonged there. That, and they almost made him appear panda-like, and that thought rubs Erwin in the right place, because he's smiling again.

 

_Cute._

It isn't as though he's known Levi for very long, but he figures the younger man would detest being called cute, for he seemed rather flustered when Erwin mistook him for his mid-twenties instead of an entire decade more than that. But he isn't cute in a childish way, rather an attractive way, for nothing about Levi is childish (save for, undoubtedly, his height).

 

Maybe he shouldn't text the first time, but he should call. Was Levi the type to prefer a phone call to a text? It's hard to tell that from just looking at him, even if he likes very much the way Levi looks and could most likely look at him for hours.

 

What would they talk about? The weather? Eren? How beautiful Levi’s silvery gray eyes are, and the fact that Erwin had noticed them in the first place? No, those were all terrible options. Erwin can't exactly figure out why he is worrying about this so much. Conversations are a natural part of life, are they not? It isn't some type of skill or task—is it?

 

* * *

 

 

Misty tresses are dabbed at with a plush towel, the fabric pressed against the ebony strands delicately. Such caution is taken so not to give Levi a headache, since he contracts those so very easily.

 

Steam circulates through the veins of the bathroom, and Levi’s light skin is slightly reddened by the high temperature, a flush well established across his cheeks and shoulders. A pearly white towel is secured along his thin hips as he exits to his bedroom.

 

Despite Petra hounding him about how it's bad for his hair and skin (though he _does_ use moisturizers and other skin care products during and after, and she herself is always the first to compliment how his hair is like black silk), Levi tends to shower twice a day. It goes hand in hand with his _slightly_ compulsive cleanliness—and he isn't exactly sure where it comes from, being that he was raised in a fairly dirty and unsafe slum. But perhaps then it stems from that, for even as a child he'd always wanted everything as clean and neat as possible. There's just a feeling of _contentment_ that fills him when cleanliness encompasses him.

 

Unsurprisingly, this had been his second shower of the day and due to it, he is feeling comfortable and energized. As he removes his towel from around his hips to press against his partially wet hair once more, he hears the high pitched chime of his phone, the illuminated screen catching his attention. Levi bends to read the words displayed on the lock screen, seeing that it was just Petra sending a hoard of emojis, and scoffs as he opens his drawer for a clean pair of underwear.

 

Petra and Auruo are just the genre of couple to venture out on a Saturday night, and Petra loves to provide him with photo and text updates of their outings. Levi never turns her away, for truthfully he doesn't mind it, though he isn't entirely sure how he feels about having more photos of Petra and her fiancé on his phone than of himself. But tonight he jumps at every notification of his phone, wondering if it's Erwin calling, texting—he even thought he heard a FaceTime call once.

 

But in reality, there is nothing. It's getting late and Levi is starting to give up, thinking, or _hoping,_ perhaps he'll call tomorrow.

 

So he goes about his business, pulling on a fresh pair of briefs and a sweater, since the weather is getting chillier, and some sleep shorts. He figures his legs won't need much coverage since he'll be under the covers soon, anyway.

 

Though he gets in bed before ten every night, Levi doesn't get to sleep until much later. All by fault of his own, however, as he prefers to stay up and embrace the deep night silence, to read or partake in his somewhat guilty pleasure of social media.

 

He’s only halfway through twitter notifications when his phone screen is overpowered by a sudden darkness, and then starts chiming as several options display on the screen. Indeed, in crisp white print at the center of the screen is an unknown number, under which reads Boston, MA, which most nearly means one thing.

 

Oh god, it’s happening.

 

He takes another moment to stare at the screen, before realizing the call is about to end and he scrambles to accept it and press the phone to his ear, leaning back to allow his blankets to swallow him up, though comfortably.

 

“Ah—Hello?”

 

“Levi?”

 

God, that voice. It’s him, there’s no doubt about it now. Suddenly Levi’s face feels warm, embarrassed at his own internal monologue—he’s a teacher, not a schoolgirl. But he is still unbelievably shy in this situation, though he hopes Erwin can’t tell, as he is able make his voice sound relatively normal.

 

“Erwin?”

 

“Indeed.” Levi can nearly _hear_ the smile in his voice.

 

“Ah, hello.” He unconsciously mirrors how he'd answered the phone, but realizes it once Erwin starts chuckling.

 

“Sorry for calling so late,” He murmurs, once the chuckles die down, “I’d been a little busy throughout the day, but I thought I should still call. I hoped you'd still be up.”

 

“Yeah, I’m up. I don't get to sleep ‘til late anyway,” he stares at the sleeves of his sweater, which are slightly longer than his arms and cover most of his hands. It's hard for Levi to find good clothes without getting them customer tailored (which is way too expensive), because while he has a petite frame, his chest is broad for his size and his waist is toned and long. So the shirts that have the right length are too tight, and the shirts that have the right fit are too long. He finds himself compromising in either area quite often—after all, sleeves can be cuffed, and a little tightness never hurt anyone.

 

“I see,” Levi is certain Erwin does not face this same problem, though the shorter man has noticed that the taller’s shirts _do_ run rather tight. He's paying attention again when Erwin continues, “I shouldn't be up this late, really—but tomorrow is Sunday, I figured I could cheat a little.”

 

Levi chuckles slightly, “I cheat like that pretty often, then,” a pause, as he takes in Erwin’s sweet chuckles once more, finding they make him smile, softly and fondly, “I take it your little one's in bed?”

 

“Supposedly,” answers Erwin, with an amused bit of banter about him, “he thinks I don't know he stays up later than he's supposed to.”

 

“Kids think they're so clever, especially if you let them,” remarks the teacher, accidentally filling his voice with unmistakable fondness. He admires Erwin as a parent according to what he’s seen—despite his son being so young, Erwin gives him so much freedom and space to foster his own thoughts and opinions. And it shows in the boy’s growing maturity; for an eight year old, he is very bright and aware, though he does not escape _all_ of his childish tendencies. Which is fine, let children be children.

 

“I’ve noticed,” Erwin hums in his low tone, “are you complimenting my parenting?”

 

“I might be. You're really liberal with him. I like that. Seems like if he got real curious, he'd ask you about anything and you'd tell him.”

 

“Yeah … I don't like lying to him, even if it's awkward. I try to suit it for his age as much as I can. The strangest thing he'd ever asked once was if girls and boys have different _parts,_ and _why_ , even.”

 

“Lord,” Levi nearly snorts, “What’d you tell?”

 

“That yes they do and it's for creational purposes.”

 

“ _Creational,_ ” he can't help it now, he's laughing, “nice.”

 

“I’m personally really proud of that one.” Erwin is simpering broadly, and again, the brightness  its audible in his voice. Levi likes that—a man appearing so stoic and removed is practically melting while talking  about his son. It fills Levi with a strange warmth he hadn't felt in a long time—perhaps _ever_. To Levi, Erwin is so … complex, so layered and he feels fortunate that he gets to peel back the exterior this early on. Not to mention, he likes what he's seen so far.

 

“It’s funny … ” Erwin says after a while, “Eren was concerned we'd spend all our time talking about him. I guess he was right, then.”

 

“I like it when you talk about Eren,” Levi says a little too quickly, but goes with it, “you're happy when you talk about him. When I first met you … when you first walked in for the conference, I mean, you seemed so serious and deadpan, kind of more on the melancholy side—like one of those high-strung bosses from shitty mafia movies,” Erwin seems to find that amusing, for he's laughing again and Levi has to work to contain his own urge to _giggle_ , “Hey, really. But then Eren showed up and it was like … the sun came up, or something, you lit up so much. When you're happy, it … it's pleasurable to be around.”

 

"Am I not always pleasurable to be around?”

 

Now, it is Levi who is simpering, lips curved ever so slightly but the ease of his tone might depict it with words alone. “Well, I never said that. Don't twist around the things I say, smartass.”

 

Erwin omits a warbling chuckle and follows it with a deep, almost longing sigh. Yet, as he would love to talk all night, he does not know of Levi’s schedule—though admittedly, he does not peg him as one to go to early morning church. But glancing at the time, it is late, and it is his own fault for waiting so long. He could have had more time with Levi if he'd have just called earlier, but his own nerves caused a temporary roadblock.

 

“Hey? I didn't mean it when I said you weren't always pleasurable to be—”

 

“What? Oh, no, it's not that. I just got caught up in my own thoughts for a moment. It's getting late I suppose.”

 

Oh. Levi had forgotten all about the time, and glancing at the clock he bites his lower lip. While he'd love to be selfish and take up all of Erwin’s time, he knows he shouldn't, that the lawyer has more important things to do than breathe in his ear. Clearing his throat, Levi leans back against his headboard with an unintentional, but genuine sigh. He doesn't want to stop talking, but such may be necessary.

 

“Yeah, it is, right? We’ll talk tomorrow. Maybe we can even meet up somewhere.”

 

“Mm,” Erwin hums the affirmative, noting that Levi had sighed. That he may be tired. “Well, goodnight, hah?”

 

“Yeah. Goodnight, Erwin,” he's about to leave it there, but he realizes Erwin hasn't hung up yet—and something goes through his head in the matter of the few seconds it takes for his lips to part again. Maybe it's an odd request, or even a stupid one, but Levi has always been a go-getter, and while Erwin has already influenced some shy oddities out of his considerably brash and straightforward personality, the raven finds himself uttering the words before he can necessarily stop himself; or perhaps, his will to stop himself hadn't been that strong.

 

“Hey, Erwin?”

 

“Mm?” he hears, though he'd already known Erwin was still there.

 

“Let’s meet again tomorrow.”

 

“Yeah,” he agrees, “I think we should.”

 

“And,” the teacher continues, “next time we meet, do me a favour.”

 

“Ah? What favour?”

 

“Let’s call it a date.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> looks like the old men are going on a date!!  
> because if levi had left it to erwin it'd be decades before anything happened.  
> sorry this took so long to get out!! i'd been trying, but i may or may not be starting something new really soon ;)  
> thank you all for reading ♡


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